I’ve always liked the idea of a Minion Master Elite Spec, but had an idea I think would bring out core ideas of the Necromancer theme better. It will sound different, but I hope some can like these ideas. It’s something I’ve thought about for over a year. So here we go.

EDIT: People having concerns over AI related Elites need to be more open minded, and realize the possibilities of reworks to make things like this possible.EDIT: I changed some things, changed weapon to Longbow, and abilities, Traits.

Sentinel - Become a watcher, and guardian of the dead. The Necromancer rids itself of Death Shroud to summon an undead servant, the Hellhound. The Sentinel’s weapon of choice is the Longbow. New skill set would be Traps. The Necromancer’s health would be lowered to a base of 15,922 for the pet, and other bonuses. This would be needed to balance mechanics. When the Hellhound dies, sacrifice 10% Health to resummon it. Your Hellhound has 40,000 Health.

The ideal look for a Hellhound would be the Hellhound from Guild Wars 1.https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Hellhound

The theme would be physical damage based, with high amounts of life steal, and using your Hellhound for damage, and defense. The life steal would be very small amounts due to having so much though. Something around 30-50 life steal per attack. Remember Blood Magic already has Life Steal, and this Elite would synergize with it. Think something similar to a Guardian’s Virtue of Resolve.

Hellhound skills.

1. Bite - bite into the target dealing physical damage, and gaining 3% Life Force. Cooldown 4s
2. Ravage - teleport to the target, and deal massive physical damage, and inflict Vulnerability. Cooldown 6s
3. Intervene - your Hellhound teleports to you, and grants Stability, and Protection. Cooldown 12s
4. Soul Link - the Hellhound takes damage instead of you, but is reduced by 20% for 6s. 20s
5. Hell Shroud - you and your Hellhound siphon health, and your attacks do 20% more damage for 8s. Cooldown 16s

All these abilities would cost Life Force obviously, but be reasonable compared to other Shroud abilities.

Longbow Skills. 1,200 range.

1. Soul Arrow - Fire an arrow that steals life. Projectile Finisher 20%
2. Soul Shot - Fire a high powered shot that explodes, and gives 2% Life Force per target hit. Cooldown 4s
3. Defile Enchantments - Fire an Arrow that corrupts up to 3 Boons on the target. Cooldown 8s
4. Soul Pierce - inflict vulnerability on the target, and gain Swiftness. Cooldown 16s
5. Sentinel’s Arrow - Fire an Arrow that steals high health, and inflicts Cripple.

TrapsBloodbath - low healing on trap placement, deals physical damage, you and your Hellhound life steal while attacking.Hellbound - pull targets to the trap location, deal damage, and gain 2% Life Force per target hit.Deathsweep - knockdown targets around you, and cripple them.Soul Harvest - deals high damage, and inflicts Blind.

Elite Trap.Unholy Ground - deal high pulsing damage, inflicting weakness. Combo Field: Dark

Traits.Minor Proficiency - learn to wield Longbows.

Minor AdeptWatcher - become a guardian of the dead, trading your Death Shroud for an undead servant. Gain access to Trap skills, and Hellhound skills.

Major AdeptTrap Master - your Traps gain reduced recharge, and grant Might to you, and your Hellhound.Guard Dog - your Hellhound takes 5% less damage from attacks, Soul Link transfers Conditions to enemies around you.Impairment - Soul Pierce also Dazes.

Minor MasterBloodbite - your Hellhound transfers life to you with its attacks.

Major MasterEmpowered Arrows - your Longbow skills have reduced recharge, deal 10% more damage, and Sentinel’s Arrow pierces.Armored Traps - your Traps give Protection on activation .Bargain - when you are disabled, gain Retaliation.

Minor GrandmasterSoul Piercing - you and your Hellhound deal 5% more damage to targets inflicted with Vulnerability

Major GrandmasterSpiked Collar - your Hellhound shares Boons with you, and deals 5% more damage.Death Grip - your Hellbound Trap inflicts Immobilize after the pull, deals more damage, and gain 1% more Life Force per target hit.Master and Servant - your Hellhound teleports to you, and revives you when you are downed, evade attacks for 3s. Cooldown 60s

Rune of the Sentinel+25 Power+35 Ferocity+50 Power+65 Ferocity+100 Power+7% Damage when a companion is out.

I’ve always wanted a pet like Necromancer spec, with Longbow, and traps.

given the state of AI: no

even disregarding that i think overall it's a bit too dirivitive of ranger pets

your theme is also kinda meh

@derd.6413 said:given the state of AI: no

your theme is also kinda meh

You’re mean

@Kam.4092 said:

@derd.6413 said:given the state of AI: no

your theme is also kinda meh

i don't see how that disproves what i've said

@derd.6413 said:

@Kam.4092 said:

@derd.6413 said:given the state of AI: no

your theme is also kinda meh

I’m not trying to disprove you.

Maybe let it find risen animals in open world and turn them into necro minions like ranger

@Ygomogad.1836 said:Maybe let it find risen animals in open world and turn them into necro minions like rangerPet Risen Asura would be fun

The idea in itself don't shock me but there are a few things that make this e-spec "non viable".

• 1- the awful lack of survivability on core necromancer without the shroud. Honnestly, your e-spec basically force you to use sword and traps which isn't really a good idea.
• 2- the fact that there is no way to share boon with the pet. No boons, no damage.
• 3- Shroud#2 should be a "charge" skill.
• 4- I don't think we need a second main hand weapon that deal power based damage and focus on sustain.
• 5- Your hellhound pull condition from you... Why isn't there a skill to spread or transfert those conditions on foes?
• 6- 3 trap traits: No! Just no!

Can we just stop with the AI orientated elite specs, please?

@Lahmia.2193 said:Can we just stop with the AI orientated elite specs, please?

I get your opinion, but things like this can always change.

@"Dadnir.5038" said:The idea in itself don't shock me but there are a few things that make this e-spec "non viable".

• 1- the awful lack of survivability on core necromancer without the shroud. Honnestly, your e-spec basically force you to use sword and traps which isn't really a good idea.
• 2- the fact that there is no way to share boon with the pet. No boons, no damage.
• 3- Shroud#2 should be a "charge" skill.
• 4- I don't think we need a second main hand weapon that deal power based damage and focus on sustain.
• 5- Your hellhound pull condition from you... Why isn't there a skill to spread or transfert those conditions on foes?
• 6- 3 trap traits: No! Just no!

I changed skills, and traits.

Reworked a lot of stuff due to people’s criticisms.

I don't want to sound mean, but this spec seems to take away the very thing that makes the class unique and gives it the same mechanic as another class. It also borrows other bits and pieces from Ranger, Guardian and Thief to create something that doesn't seem to have a specific theme of its own. It feels like a spec for someone who can't decide which of those other classes they want to play. Even the name doesn't make sense. Hellspawner or Houndmaster perhaps.. but Sentinel? How does owning a hellhound make you a watcher/guardian of the dead?

Perhaps you can rework this into something that other classes aren't doing? Like being able to resurrect creatures you kill to fight for you? Or turning death shroud into "ghost form" where you lose direct damage but gain various fright powers? Or maybe when you enter death shroud your soul comes out of your body and can possess another creature? Or maybe even controlling the darkness itself to blanket areas in pitch black, blinding enemies and choking them with tendrils of darkness. These are just some things off the top of my head that might be interesting.

@"Zoltar MacRoth.7146" said:I don't want to sound mean, but this spec seems to take away the very thing that makes the class unique and gives it the same mechanic as another class. It also borrows other bits and pieces from Ranger, Guardian and Thief to create something that doesn't seem to have a specific theme of its own. It feels like a spec for someone who can't decide which of those other classes they want to play. Even the name doesn't make sense. Hellspawner or Houndmaster perhaps.. but Sentinel? How does owning a hellhound make you a watcher/guardian of the dead?

Perhaps you can rework this into something that other classes aren't doing? Like being able to resurrect creatures you kill to fight for you? Or turning death shroud into "ghost form" where you lose direct damage but gain various fright powers? Or maybe when you enter death shroud your soul comes out of your body and can possess another creature? Or maybe even controlling the darkness itself to blanket areas in pitch black, blinding enemies and choking them with tendrils of darkness. These are just some things off the top of my head that might be interesting.

The idea of a pet is like having an undead servant. It’s a dark spell caster trope. I chose Sentinel as the name, because I wanted to always use a Hellhound from GW1 in GW2. When a lot think of a hound, they think of a guard dog. Dogs are also known to watch graves of their past owners. They are very loyal and protective.

The core theme would be something like a patroller in a grave, watching spirits, guiding them, and keeping intruders out. A dog is also used for hunting a lot. A dog’s senses paired with the Necromancer’s perception of spirits and death sounded like a cool duo combo to me.

A lot of Elites now mix other Professions already. I don’t see how taking ideas from other Professions for Elites is a bad thing. I’d also like for Necro to have a new long range Power weapon.

@Kam.4092 said:

@"Zoltar MacRoth.7146" said:I don't want to sound mean, but this spec seems to take away the very thing that makes the class unique and gives it the same mechanic as another class. It also borrows other bits and pieces from Ranger, Guardian and Thief to create something that doesn't seem to have a specific theme of its own. It feels like a spec for someone who can't decide which of those other classes they want to play. Even the name doesn't make sense. Hellspawner or Houndmaster perhaps.. but Sentinel? How does owning a hellhound make you a watcher/guardian of the dead?

Perhaps you can rework this into something that other classes aren't doing? Like being able to resurrect creatures you kill to fight for you? Or turning death shroud into "ghost form" where you lose direct damage but gain various fright powers? Or maybe when you enter death shroud your soul comes out of your body and can possess another creature? Or maybe even controlling the darkness itself to blanket areas in pitch black, blinding enemies and choking them with tendrils of darkness. These are just some things off the top of my head that might be interesting.

This is all my opinion of course... the problem I have with this is that it feels like you started with a high concept ("use a GW1 hellhound") and you've cobbled together this spec by borrowing bits and pieces from other professions/classes to make something which is a less interesting clone of the ranger pet mechanic. This isn't like other elites mixing things. You're not mixing death shroud with ranger pet, which might be interesting if done right. And you're not replacing death shroud with something new, like Soul Beast did with their mechanic. You're just throwing away the class mechanic to replace it completely with the mechanic of another existing class. (You even say "The necromancer rids itself of death shroud" as if the concept of the shroud were disgusting to you.)Anyway, that's just my opinion. Maybe anet will like your idea.

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:

@Kam.4092 said:

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:I don't want to sound mean, but this spec seems to take away the very thing that makes the class unique and gives it the same mechanic as another class. It also borrows other bits and pieces from Ranger, Guardian and Thief to create something that doesn't seem to have a specific theme of its own. It feels like a spec for someone who can't decide which of those other classes they want to play. Even the name doesn't make sense. Hellspawner or Houndmaster perhaps.. but Sentinel? How does owning a hellhound make you a watcher/guardian of the dead?

Perhaps you can rework this into something that other classes aren't doing? Like being able to resurrect creatures you kill to fight for you? Or turning death shroud into "ghost form" where you lose direct damage but gain various fright powers? Or maybe when you enter death shroud your soul comes out of your body and can possess another creature? Or maybe even controlling the darkness itself to blanket areas in pitch black, blinding enemies and choking them with tendrils of darkness. These are just some things off the top of my head that might be interesting.

Hell Shroud is the Shroud mechanic. It’s just like the Desert Shroud. Scourge already gave up Shroud. It would be the same type of trading Shroud for something else.

As a core mechanic I personally find Shroud sort of dealt with. I don’t see how you can top Reaper’s Shroud, so why not incorporate new themes and ideas? All Professions by default share similarities as well already. They did in GW1 also.

The ranger pet system is actually very boring, and not much goes into it. With my ideas, it would make the Hellhound feel more like a companion, instead of just a buff, and stat bot like most Ranger pets. With Sentinel, you’d have a more active play style verses the one with Ranger pets. Ranger pets are limited to just having one skill when out. This really makes them feel lifeless. With the Hellhound, you’d have 5 usable skills. All the skills involve the Hellhound, and still use the Life Force mechanic. It would honestly be a more advanced form of a Ranger pet.

No one wants this mess ranger pets ai ia already bad lets not force necro to same state

@Laila Lightness.8742 said:No one wants this mess ranger pets ai ia already bad lets not force necro to same state

They could always rework pet AI. Other games do it.

@Kam.4092 said:

@Laila Lightness.8742 said:No one wants this mess ranger pets ai ia already bad lets not force necro to same state

Yeah but its to much work otherwise they would already done it

@Laila Lightness.8742 said:

@Kam.4092 said:

@Laila Lightness.8742 said:No one wants this mess ranger pets ai ia already bad lets not force necro to same state

Dismissing ideas just because X reasons can go on forever. The thing is that they can fix it. Seeing the same criticism about pet AI is annoying. When I played WoW for 7 years they worked on pet AI a lot. They can do the same in GW2. The devs in GW2 have been reworking things a lot more this past year, and I see pet AI being worked on eventually.

If I had to go with an AI spec (despite the low reliability), here is what I'd envision:

E-spec name: CultistI'd associate the spec to an event in GW where Verata a necromancer speialized in death magic chose to separate himself from the classical form of necromancy. (Yes, that's rough and probably terribly inaccurate)

Mechanism: Shroudbeast

• F1 now summon/unsummon a shroud beast and grant you a fixed weapon skillset.
• The shroudbeast is healed whenever you gain life force.
• The system consider you in a shroud state when the shroudbeast is on play.
• The "shroud" don't protect your life bar but you keep access to your utilities.
• The shroudbeast gain the same advantages that a necromancer would gain from a shroud.
• The shroudbeast AA cleave up to 3 foes.

Shroud skill: In shroud the cultist use a blowpipe

• AA: Life dart: deal low damage with a high firing rate (ranger's shortbow firing rate and power damage level).
• "Crash!": Command your shroudbeast to shadowstep on the targeted area and crush foes in this area dealing damage and crippling them.
• "Howl!": Command your shroudbeast to howl, fearing foes around it. The closer the foes are from the shroud beast the longer the fear. (same as warrior's "fear me!", except for the shroudbeast cast time animation)
• "Drain!": Command your shroudbeast to unleash dark waves that deal damage, drain life force and weaken foes around it.
• "Heed!": Command your shroudbeast to come back to you and take damage for you.

Weapon: Could be anything but since I'm lazy and there is no longer any axe trait I'll go with off-hand axe. (is it an AN tip about next e-spec weapon?)

• 4: Cacophony totem: Summon a totem for 5 seconds that periodically rip confuse and slow foes in the area. Deal minor damage.

• 5: Ulcerous totem: Summon a totem for 5 seconds that periodically rip boons and weaken foes in the area. Deal minor damage.

Utilities: Glyphs (can't waste this one in a life time ability to have utilities while in shroud)

• [heal] Glyph of gluttony: Heal you and sacrifice 5% life force healing you twice the amount of life force sacrified. Shroud: Heal you and sacrifice 5% of your shroudbeast life force healing allies around it for the amount of life force sacrificed.
• Glyph of wrath: Transfer all conditions on you, 2 conditions are free and sacrifice 1% life force for each additionnal condition tranfered. Shroud: transfer all conditions on your shroudbeast on up to 5 foes in the area 2 conditions are free and sacrifice 1% life force for each additionnal condition tranfered.
• Glyph of greed: Rip and copy boons on your foes, 2 boons are free and you sacrifice 1% life force for each additionnal boon. Shroud: Rip and copy boons on up to 5 foes around your shroudbeast, 2 boons are free and you sacrifice 1% life force for each additionnal boon.
• Glyph of envy: For 8s your hits drain life, the first 3s are free and then you need to pay 3% of life force every seconds. Shroud: Your shroudbeast is also affected, but only deal additionnal damage.
• Glyph of lust: Tether yourself to your foe for 8s, weakening and crippling your foe every seconds. The first 3s are free and then you need to pay 3% of life force every seconds. Shroud: Up to 5 foes are tethered to your shroudbeast instead of you.
• [elite] Glyph of pride: Shroud yourself into your pride gaining barrier every second for up to 5s. The first barrier is free and then you need to pay 10% of life force every seconds. Shroud: Instead of granting you barrier, allow your shroudbeast to taunt foes around it every second.

Traitline:Minor traits:

• Cultist's fervor: Allow you to summon a shroud beast and use glyphs.
• Dark bond: share boons with your shroudbeast. Gain barrier when you summon your shroudbeast.
• Withered skin: When you are affected by weakness receive 30% less condition damage.

Upper traitline: withering

• Weariness: slow (2s) foes on which you inflict weakness.
• Weaken armor: Whenever you inflict weakness, inflict vulnerability (5s). Deal 10% more damage on weakened foes.
• Withering aura: When you are in shroud you and foes around you are periodically weakened. Tic every 3 seconds for 3 seconds of weakness.

Middle traitline: Black magic

• Beacon of darkness: Totems last longer. Wielding an axe increase your LF pool by 15%.
• Echo of pain: Deal damage around you whenever you sacrifice life force. The damages are equal to the life force spent.
• Demonic flesh: Whenever you gain life force while in shroud, gain life and might. ICD 1s.

Lower traitline: Fanatism

• Sadism: Cast lesser glyph of wrath whenever you use a shroud skill (except AA). Lesser glyph of wrath: Transfer 3 conditions from your shroudbeast onto up to 5 foes around it and sacrifice 1% of life force.
• Contempt: You no longer gain life force from death instead you gain contempt (5s) that grant you 2% life force every seconds and reduce physical damage taken by 5%. Stack up to 5 time. (soul comprehension increase buff duration)
• Depravity: Shrd#1 throw 2 darts instead of 1. You and your shroudbeast gain a stackable damage buff whenever you critically hit a foe with shrd#1. Depravity (5s): +2.5% increased damage (stack up to 10 time)

So yeah it will suffer on the defensive departement and AI will suck but all in all it should fit necromancer thematic.

@"Dadnir.5038" said:If I had to go with an AI spec (despite the low reliability), here is what I'd envision:

E-spec name: CultistI'd associate the spec to an event in GW where Verata a necromancer speialized in death magic chose to separate himself from the classical form of necromancy. (Yes, that's rough and probably terribly inaccurate)

Mechanism: Shroudbeast

• F1 now summon/unsummon a shroud beast and grant you a fixed weapon skillset.
• The shroudbeast is healed whenever you gain life force.
• The system consider you in a shroud state when the shroudbeast is on play.
• The "shroud" don't protect your life bar but you keep access to your utilities.
• The shroudbeast gain the same advantages that a necromancer would gain from a shroud.
• The shroudbeast AA cleave up to 3 foes.

Shroud skill: In shroud the cultist use a blowpipe

• AA: Life dart: deal low damage with a high firing rate (ranger's shortbow firing rate and power damage level).
• "Crash!": Command your shroudbeast to shadowstep on the targeted area and crush foes in this area dealing damage and crippling them.
• "Howl!": Command your shroudbeast to howl, fearing foes around it. The closer the foes are from the shroud beast the longer the fear. (same as warrior's "fear me!", except for the shroudbeast cast time animation)
• "Drain!": Command your shroudbeast to unleash dark waves that deal damage, drain life force and weaken foes around it.
• "Heed!": Command your shroudbeast to come back to you and take damage for you.

Weapon: Could be anything but since I'm lazy and there is no longer any axe trait I'll go with off-hand axe. (is it an AN tip about next e-spec weapon?)

• 4: Cacophony totem: Summon a totem for 5 seconds that periodically rip confuse and slow foes in the area. Deal minor damage.

• 5: Ulcerous totem: Summon a totem for 5 seconds that periodically rip boons and weaken foes in the area. Deal minor damage.

Utilities: Glyphs (can't waste this one in a life time ability to have utilities while in shroud)

• [heal] Glyph of gluttony: Heal you and sacrifice 5% life force healing you twice the amount of life force sacrified. Shroud: Heal you and sacrifice 5% of your shroudbeast life force healing allies around it for the amount of life force sacrificed.
• Glyph of wrath: Transfer all conditions on you, 2 conditions are free and sacrifice 1% life force for each additionnal condition tranfered. Shroud: transfer all conditions on your shroudbeast on up to 5 foes in the area 2 conditions are free and sacrifice 1% life force for each additionnal condition tranfered.
• Glyph of greed: Rip and copy boons on your foes, 2 boons are free and you sacrifice 1% life force for each additionnal boon. Shroud: Rip and copy boons on up to 5 foes around your shroudbeast, 2 boons are free and you sacrifice 1% life force for each additionnal boon.
• Glyph of envy: For 8s your hits drain life, the first 3s are free and then you need to pay 3% of life force every seconds. Shroud: Your shroudbeast is also affected, but only deal additionnal damage.
• Glyph of lust: Tether yourself to your foe for 8s, weakening and crippling your foe every seconds. The first 3s are free and then you need to pay 3% of life force every seconds. Shroud: Up to 5 foes are tethered to your shroudbeast instead of you.
• [elite] Glyph of pride: Shroud yourself into your pride gaining barrier every second for up to 5s. The first barrier is free and then you need to pay 10% of life force every seconds. Shroud: Instead of granting you barrier, allow your shroudbeast to taunt foes around it every second.

Traitline:Minor traits:

• Cultist's fervor: Allow you to summon a shroud beast and use glyphs.
• Dark bond: share boons with your shroudbeast. Gain barrier when you summon your shroudbeast.
• Withered skin: When you are affected by weakness receive 30% less condition damage.

Upper traitline: withering

• Weariness: slow (2s) foes on which you inflict weakness.
• Weaken armor: Whenever you inflict weakness, inflict vulnerability (5s). Deal 10% more damage on weakened foes.
• Withering aura: When you are in shroud you and foes around you are periodically weakened. Tic every 3 seconds for 3 seconds of weakness.

Middle traitline: Black magic

• Beacon of darkness: Totems last longer. Wielding an axe increase your LF pool by 15%.
• Echo of pain: Deal damage around you whenever you sacrifice life force. The damages are equal to the life force spent.
• Demonic flesh: Whenever you gain life force while in shroud, gain life and might. ICD 1s.

Lower traitline: Fanatism

• Sadism: Cast lesser glyph of wrath whenever you use a shroud skill (except AA). Lesser glyph of wrath: Transfer 3 conditions from your shroudbeast onto up to 5 foes around it and sacrifice 1% of life force.
• Contempt: You no longer gain life force from death instead you gain contempt (5s) that grant you 2% life force every seconds and reduce physical damage taken by 5%. Stack up to 5 time. (soul comprehension increase buff duration)
• Depravity: Shrd#1 throw 2 darts instead of 1. You and your shroudbeast gain a stackable damage buff whenever you critically hit a foe with shrd#1. Depravity (5s): +2.5% increased damage (stack up to 10 time)

So yeah it will suffer on the defensive departement and AI will suck but all in all it should fit necromancer thematic.

I thought about using a shadow beast instead of Hellhound in my concept. I was going to chose this https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Shadow_Beast

I chose Hellhound, because I liked the idea of watching over the dead with an undead dog, that alerts you, and helps you hunt.

I like a lot of your ideas. I just don’t think Necromancer should be forever stuck in the endless misty darkness theme. There are many other portrayals of a Necromancer in stories, and games. I’d prefer a Necromancer with a more advanced minion type pet, like a Hellhound. We already have a Shadow Minion technically.

I actually thought about Glyphs, and utilities in Shroud, but figured that’d be a risky decision for balance. Overall I still like your ideas. The Verata reference is cool. He’s the first Necromancer quest giver in GW1 Prophecies. I was playing GW1 recently, and went to the Mage Tower in the sky in Kessex Peak. You see Verata there, and his many followers. Hoping we go there one day still.

@Kam.4092 said:

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:

@Kam.4092 said:

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:I don't want to sound mean, but this spec seems to take away the very thing that makes the class unique and gives it the same mechanic as another class. It also borrows other bits and pieces from Ranger, Guardian and Thief to create something that doesn't seem to have a specific theme of its own. It feels like a spec for someone who can't decide which of those other classes they want to play. Even the name doesn't make sense. Hellspawner or Houndmaster perhaps.. but Sentinel? How does owning a hellhound make you a watcher/guardian of the dead?

Perhaps you can rework this into something that other classes aren't doing? Like being able to resurrect creatures you kill to fight for you? Or turning death shroud into "ghost form" where you lose direct damage but gain various fright powers? Or maybe when you enter death shroud your soul comes out of your body and can possess another creature? Or maybe even controlling the darkness itself to blanket areas in pitch black, blinding enemies and choking them with tendrils of darkness. These are just some things off the top of my head that might be interesting.

You're right about the ranger pet being boring and your idea for multiple pet skills is a good one, but it's a concept for the ranger class. It's the ranger's mechanic. You even call it a more advanced form of ranger pet. It would be like giving warrior more advanced illusions than mesmer, or giving revenant more advanced toolkits than engineer.Just my 2c.

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:

@Kam.4092 said:

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:

@Kam.4092 said:

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:I don't want to sound mean, but this spec seems to take away the very thing that makes the class unique and gives it the same mechanic as another class. It also borrows other bits and pieces from Ranger, Guardian and Thief to create something that doesn't seem to have a specific theme of its own. It feels like a spec for someone who can't decide which of those other classes they want to play. Even the name doesn't make sense. Hellspawner or Houndmaster perhaps.. but Sentinel? How does owning a hellhound make you a watcher/guardian of the dead?

Perhaps you can rework this into something that other classes aren't doing? Like being able to resurrect creatures you kill to fight for you? Or turning death shroud into "ghost form" where you lose direct damage but gain various fright powers? Or maybe when you enter death shroud your soul comes out of your body and can possess another creature? Or maybe even controlling the darkness itself to blanket areas in pitch black, blinding enemies and choking them with tendrils of darkness. These are just some things off the top of my head that might be interesting.

In a lot of games, it’s not just Rangers, or Hunters with pets. Anything can have a pet, there’s no ancient rule for only Rangers having one. In WoW for example Hunters, Warlocks, Mages, and Death Knights have pets you keep out, and other classes can summon a temporary pet.

Any Profession can borrow ideas, and themes from one another. You already see it with stuff like Chronomancer gaining Wells. Necromancer’s were known for Wells in the past, then Mesmers got them. Necromancer’s can even take advantage of the Chronomancer Rune for their Wells as well. GW2 already shares concepts, and mechanics with the Professions, so Necromancer getting a pet would fit with the Elite Specialization design already in the game, that’s about Professions getting shared mechanics.

@Kam.4092 said:

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:

@Kam.4092 said:

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:

@Kam.4092 said:

@Zoltar MacRoth.7146 said:I don't want to sound mean, but this spec seems to take away the very thing that makes the class unique and gives it the same mechanic as another class. It also borrows other bits and pieces from Ranger, Guardian and Thief to create something that doesn't seem to have a specific theme of its own. It feels like a spec for someone who can't decide which of those other classes they want to play. Even the name doesn't make sense. Hellspawner or Houndmaster perhaps.. but Sentinel? How does owning a hellhound make you a watcher/guardian of the dead?

Perhaps you can rework this into something that other classes aren't doing? Like being able to resurrect creatures you kill to fight for you? Or turning death shroud into "ghost form" where you lose direct damage but gain various fright powers? Or maybe when you enter death shroud your soul comes out of your body and can possess another creature? Or maybe even controlling the darkness itself to blanket areas in pitch black, blinding enemies and choking them with tendrils of darkness. These are just some things off the top of my head that might be interesting.

It's not really relevant what other games do, wells were never necro's core mechanic and the problem (for me) isn't the borrowing of ideas. It's that you're not creating something new or distinctive. You're giving one class a better version of another class's core mechanic. I can see necro getting a spec where they command a squad of undead humanoids (similar to that heart in Vabbi), but a spec where the necro commands a single animal just feels too much like ranger. That's all I'm trying to say. I'm not saying it can't happen or that Anet can't make it work. It just doesn't win me (personally) over.

As another example, imagine a ranger spec where the ranger "rids itself" of the pet and has a shroud that happens to be more advanced than reaper. Would that make sense to you?